The multimedia products you create with Authorware can be demanding
on your computer hardware. Here we discuss the various aspects of hardware
as it applies to Authorware projects. From development machines to
delivery platform specifications, it's covered here. These are just
recommendations, not to be considered gospel truth.A'ware Requirements - Development
Platform - Delivery Platform - Upgrades/Cost-Benefit - Links

Authorware Requirements
Right off the box, the minimum requirements for authoring with Authorware
7:

Adobe's processor recommendations are light on detail. While a
Pentium CPU is certainly better than an old 486, don't assume a Pentium
133 is going to be an acceptable processor to work with. Perhaps for
very simple applications, that would be fine. But keep in mind Authorware
is all about integrating multimedia content.
Our experience indicates an Intel Celeron, AMD Athlon or AMD Duron processors
work just as well as an Intel Pentium, but don't skimp on the Mhz. Regardless
of the type, you'll want at least a 550mhz CPU to author without
any aggravating delays. With the speed of processors reaching ever-higher ratings
these days, a 1Ghz CPU or better is certainly recommended.

Update 2014: -- Of course, those specs are now way outdated. Good news is Authorware 7 continues to work fine on newer systems. We've developed a couple new Authorware projects under both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and, boy, with the CPU speed and memory of newer computers, Authorware responds incredibly quickly. You may need to enable UAC if you encounter any issues running Authorware on newer systems, and it isn't multi-CPU aware...but overall, working with Authorware on modern systems continues to be trouble-free and fast. However, once 64bit becomes defacto and 32bit support is dropped, that's when Authorware will truly be unusable (at least without some sort of emulator or VM). --

Authorware 4 was the last version to have a PC and Mac authoring environment.
Starting with Authorware 5, a Windows PC is the only available development
platform. But fortunately, there was enough demand for cross-platform
applications that Adobe has continued to support playback on Macintosh
systems. With Authorware 7, there was a native OS X packager and player...
Unfortunately, it doesn't work on newer versions of the MacOS. With the removal of the Rosetta, the Authorware Mac Packager no longer works (the last supported MacOS that'll work is SnowLeopard).

At the time version 7 was released Windows XP was the newest OS version from
Microsoft, so it is the recommended platform for Authorware development. However,
many authors are still using Windows 2000 and Windows 98se without any problems.
But there comes a time when old Operating Systems must be abandoned, and thus
with the release of Authorware 7, versions of Windows prior to 98se are not
supported. You can still try to author on older systems, and many do successfully
- but as newer features are implemented (Powerpoint conversion, javascript,
etc.), such users will likely encounter problems.

Adobe recommends "64mb of available RAM." Note
this means 64mb of available memory, not 64mb of RAM for your whole
system!
128mb of available memory is recommended for smooth development. Our
recommendation is your system have a minimum of 256mb under Windows 2000
or XP. And with A'ware 6.5, the 1gb memory problem has been solved, so
load up on the RAM!

Adobe also recommends "120mb of available disk space." Authorware
itself does not require that much room, but installation of all the ShowMe's,
KO's, and support files will require the additional space. Also note
that Windows (any version) can require large amounts of free hard drive
space for its 'swap file'. The rule of thumb is always have at least
twice as much free HD space as you do total RAM - so if you have 128mb
of memory, you should be sure to have 256mb of free HD space at all times.
With hard drives growing in capacity almost as fast as CPUs are with
speed, it should be affordable to have gigabytes of available HD space
on your system.

Finally, a 800x600 screen resolution is a unfortunate restriction for
target systems, much less a development one. It is recommended your have
a system capable of at least 1024x768 for optimal workspace. Even better,
two monitors provide an exceptional environment for Authorware development
- go dual if you have the choice! Windows 98se, 2000, and XP all have
support for dual-monitors, whether it's two separate video cards or a
'dual-head' card. The most expensive aspect is buying a new monitor -
but it's a worthy investment that will surely shorten your development
time.

Delivery Platform

Adobe's recommended playback platform, again directly from the
box, is pretty sparse. Recommended are simply:

Microsoft Windows

Intel Pentium processor or higher

Windows 98se, 2000, ME, XP, NT 4 - or later

32mb of RAM

Macintosh

PowerMac G3 or higher

Apple Mac OS X (10.1 or later recommended) or 8.6 or better with
Carbon Library

32mb or RAM

Of course, as multimedia CBT, WBT, e-learning, etc. developers, we don't
always have a choice when it comes to target platform specifications.
While the above specs may work for low-end media projects, we recommend
delivery platforms specifications come close to the preferred development
platform.

Unsure which computer memory upgrade you need?
The Crucial System Scanner
takes the guesswork out of upgrading.

Which brings up an important point. Before you get too far along in
the design phase, and certainly well before you begin development, you
must determine the target environment. It would be very disappointing
for both the client and the developer should an intense multimedia product
be developed - only to discover the client computers cannot handle the
media. Next to a sloppy interface, nothing upsets a client more than
stuttering video, banded images, and slow animation.

The biggest demands on a product's playback computer are usually from
movies. The more 'exotic' the codec a movie uses, the more likely that
movie will require significant performance from the host computer to
decompress and play the movie smoothly.
If your target platforms are older machines, stick with an older codec. MPEG
1 is still a favorite for many developers due to its ubiquity. It demands far
less CPU attention than the more modern MPEG 4 codec variants and most systems
come equipped with the necessary codecs and drivers to playback such movies
without requiring additional software to be installed.

Of course, if your audience machines are capable, then going with the
more recent codecs can certainly offer a much sharper looking result,
especially with video that contains a lot of movement. Microsoft's MPEG
4 releases, under the Windows Media banner, are all very capable and
produce sharp, clear movies. Using these codecs comes with the added
benefit of target Windows computers likely having the codecs pre-installed.

However, the Microsoft codecs are not well-suited for cross-platform
delivery as their support of the Mac platform tends to lag significantly.
If you're delivering to both PCs and Macs, consider either MPEG 1 or
QuickTime.
QuickTime has the benefit of being native to the Mac, so implementation is
simple. On the other hand, delivering a product with .mov's to the PC can be
difficult as such machines rarely have QT installed. This will require forethought
during development to detect if QuickTime is installed, and if not, how to
provide an installation option for the user.
Real is also produces quality codecs, but the likelihood of the required software
being installed on either PC or a Mac is even less than any of the above solutions.

Flash is also increasingly being used within Authorware to deliver distinctive
animation and other content. Keep in mind any media playing through Authorware
is not going to perform as smoothly as it does on its own, as such implementation
provides another software layer the computer must handle. However, such
integration is certainly done on a large basis with exceptional results.

Update 2014: -- Of course, nowadays with mobile-delivery being a concern, the most popular video codec is h.264/MP4. However, finding a format and player that will work with Authorware will be a challenge. You can still try to implement the Windows Media Player ActiveX control but that may be a challenge to get working smoothly. Best bet may be to implement the IE control and play the video through the browser (i.e. create an HTML5 page with a [video] tag to the MP4 and load that HTML page through the IE ActiveX control). --

In any such situation, just keep in mind that the more types of media
your program contains, the more demanding that program will be of the
playback computer. There is no hard and fast rule - much of these determinations
are borne of experience and testing.

Upgrades and Cost-Benefit

Each version of Authorware contains improvements, some small, some large.
With Authorware 7, several new methods of media support and structuring
have been included. With these improvements come heavier demands on both
the development and target systems. Functionality such as Powerpoint
conversion require the Microsoft Java VM to be installed on the system
- something many folks have problems with as the recommended development
operating system, XP, initially shipped without a Java VM.
As Authorware continues to grow and add new capabilities, the demands on both
types of systems will only increase. Thus it is important to keep at least
the development systems at a workable level. Fortunately, prices for most computer
upgrades are continually dropping.

Recently, our systems were upgraded to meet these growing demands. Additional
hard drives were added, memory was increased, one computer got a processor
upgrade, and another now contains a dual-head video card and two monitors.
All of these have certainly led to increased productivity.

There's never a 'right time' to jump into the upgrade process - whatever
is bought new today will quickly be outclassed in a mere few months.
However, it is important to bite the bullet at some point to get better
productivity out of your systems, and yourself.
Fortunately, shopping and comparing prices to get the best bang for your money
has never been easier. A few of our favorite links are below which we use regularly
for our shopping and upgrade needs.

One last word of advice, don't buy refurbished or reconditioned equipment.
For a simple system, such items may be fine and save you a few pennies.
But for systems you depend on for your income, it's just not worth the
savings to purchase a piece of hardware that has a higher probability
of failure and likely an inferior warranty.

Links

AnandTech's
Ratings - yet another vendor rating site - a good one to compare
against Reseller Ratings.

Crucial - Makers of quality RAM.
If a stable system is important, Crucial-branded memory is the stuff to have.